Interlaboratory ring test of time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays for zeranol and alpha-zearalenol and comparison with zeranol test kits

K M Cooper, L Ribeiro, P Alves, V Vozikis, S Tsitsamis, G Alfredsson, T Lovgren, M Tuomola, H Takalo, A Iitia, S S Sterk, M Blokland, D G Kennedy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many zeranol immunoassay test kits cross-react with toxins formed by naturally occurring Fusarium spp. fungi, leading to false-positive screening results. This paper describes the evaluation and application of recently published, dry reagent time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays (TR-FIA) for zeranol and the toxin alpha-zearalenol. A ring test of bovine urine fortified with zeranol and/or alpha-zearalenol in four European Union National Reference Laboratories demonstrated that the TR-FIA tests were accurate and robust. The alpha-zearalenol TR-FIA satisfactorily quantified alpha-zearalenol in urine fortified at 10-30 ng ml(-1) . The specificity-enhanced zeranol TR-FIA accurately quantified zeranol in the range 2-5 ng ml(-1) and gave no false-positive results in blank urine, even in the presence of 30 ng ml(-1) alpha-zearalenol. Zeranol TR-FIA specificity was demonstrated further by analysing incurred zeranol-free urine samples containing natural Fusarium spp. toxins. The TR-FIA yielded no false-positive results in the presence of up to 22 ng ml(-1) toxins. The performance of four commercially available zeranol immunoassay test kits was more variable. Three kits produced many false-positive results. One kit produced only one potential false-positive using a protocol that was longer than that of the TR-FIA. These TR-FIAs will be valuable tools to develop inspection criteria to distinguish illegal zeranol abuse from contamination arising from in vivo metabolism of Fusarium spp. toxins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)804-812
Number of pages9
JournalFood Additives and Contaminants
Volume20
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Sept 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Chemistry (miscellaneous)
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
  • Toxicology

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